Current Affairs Quiz/Questions-Answers March 2012, March 26-April 1

1. Name the Nobel Peace Prize winner who was named the winner of one of the world's leading religion prizes, Templeton Prize for 2012 by the John Templeton Foundation on 29 March 2012. a. The Dalai Lama b. Tawakkol Karman c. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf d. Baba Ram Dev Answer: (a) 2. US Senate on 30 March 2012 confirmed career diplomat as ambassador to India. Identify the person in question. a. William Clark, Jr. b. Albert Peter Burleigh c. Robert Blackwill d. Nancy Powell Answer: (d) 3. Amadou Toumani Toure, who was ousted from his position following a military coup, was the president of ______ a. Tunisia b. Azerbaijan c. Mali d. Maldives Answer: (c) 4. A former Director of Kashmiri American Council (KAC) was sentenced to two years in prison in a District Court in Eastern District of Virginia. Identify the person the statement is related with. a. Hafeez Saeed b. Mushtaq Ahmed c. David Coleman Headley d. Gulam Nabi Fai Answer: (d) 5. Macky Sall became the new president of Senegal. Sall replaced _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ to the top post. a. Abdoulaye Wade b. Naseer Abdullah c. Erich Sherry d. None of the above Answer: (a) 6. Consider the following statements and using the code given below identify the personality with whom these statements are associated 2. He is the deputy chairman of Tata Group 3. He is to be appointed as the Chairman of Tata Group in December 2012 4. He was appointed on the Board of Directors of TCS on 1 April 2012 5. He is the first person out of Tata family, who has selected to head the Tata group after Ratan Tata (a) OP Bhatt (b) Cyrus Mistry (c) Noel Tata (d) Kumar Mangalam Birla Answer: (b)

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7. Which of the following nationalized bank on 1 April 2012 appointed D Sarkar as chairman and Managing Director (a) Indian Bank (b) Allahabad Bank (c) Union Bank of India (d) Canara Bank Answer: (c) 8. Naresh Goyal is the chairman of _ _ _ _ _ _ (a) Jet Airways (b) Indigo Airlines (c) Air India (d) Go Indigo Answer: (a) 9. S Narsing Rao has been appointed as the CMD of Coal India Limited. Which of the following statements related to Coal India Limited is wrong? (a) Coal India Limited is an Indian state-controlled coal mining company (b) It acquired the Maharatna status in April 2011 (c) Coal India Limited was formed in 1973 as Coal Mines Authority Limited (d) All the statements are wrong Answer: (d) 10. Volkswagen launched the new IPL edition of Vento and Polo. Volkswagen is a car maker headquartered in_ _ _ _ __ _ _. (a) South Korea (b) Italy (c) Japan (d) Germany Answer: (d) 11. Consider the following statements using the code given below identify the personality with whom these statements are associated. 2. He won Miami Opens on 1 April 2012 3. He defeated Andy Murray in the final 4. He holds number 1 rank in world tennis ranking 5. He is a Serbian National (a) Rafael Nadal (b) Roger Federer (c) Novak Djokovic (d) Letan Hewitt Answer: (b) 12. Which one of the following statements is wrong? (a) Andy Murray is a British National (b) He was the runner-up in the Miami Opens (c) He is the number four of world tennis ranking (d) His highest career ranking is one Answer: (d)
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13. NKP Salve who passed away on 1 April 2012 was the president of BCCI, when the Indian cricket team won the cricket world cup in _ _ _ _ (a) 1987 (b) 1996 (c) 2011 (d) 1983 Answer: (d) 14. Geeta Poghat, who on 1 April 2012 qualified for London Olympics 2012, belongs to which of the following sports? (a) Wrestling (b) Boxing (c) Gymnastic (d) Weight-Lifting Answer: (c) 15. Lender Paes clinched his 50 career title at Miami Opens, Paes won the doubles title with_ _ _ _ _ _ _ (a) Radek Stepanek (b) Max Mirnyi (c) Daniel Nestor (d) Mahesh Bhupati Answer: (a) 16. Union Power Ministry did not approve of the gas price pooling mechanism within the power sector as proposed by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. With reference to the statement which of the following facts are not true? 2. The Power Ministry deemed the pooling price mechanism with 7 mmscmd of additional RLNG to be nonworkable 3. As per the Power Ministry the pool proposed to be formed could only envisage 20-25 per cent of RLNG with 75-80 per cent of domestic gas 4. Petroleum Ministry specifically stated that no new power plants will be considered for gas allocation till 201920 5. Until 2013-14, only around 7 mmscmd of RLNG is expected to be imported due to infrastructure constraints a. Only 1 b. 2 & 3 c. Only 3 d. Only 2 Answer: (c) 18. Union government on 23 March 2012 reduced the import tariff value of which metal from USD 573 per 10 grams to USD 530 per 10 grams? a. Gold b. Silver c. Copper d. Iron Answer: (a)

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19. The empowered group of ministers (EGoM) on 28 March 2012 fixed the issue price for the National Buildings Construction Corporation's public offer at what amount per share? a. Rs 100 per share b. Rs 106 per share c. Rs 110 per share d. Rs 115 per share Answer: (b) 20. As per the data on the core industries released on 29 March 2012, eight core infrastructure industries registered a robust growth in output in February 2012. What was the growth recorded in February 2012? a. 6.8 % b. 7.5% c. 8.2% d. 9% Answer: (a) 21.Which body notified in March 2012 that premium rates for motor third party liability only cover will undergo an upward revision beginning 1 April 2012? a. CII b. SEBI c. IRDA d. FICCI Answer: (c) 22. Following RBI's decision to hike bank rate, the Food Ministry increased the interest rate on loans provided to sugar factories from the Sugar Development Fund (SDF) to what per cent from the earlier 4% from 14 February 2012? a. 7% b. 7.5% c. 8% d. 8.8% Answer: (b) 23. According to data released by the government on 19 March 2012, retail inflation stood at what per cent in February 2012 as a result of higher prices of protein based items, edible oil products and manufactured goods? a. 8.83% b. 8% c. 7.79% d. 7.% Answer: (a) 24. Finance ministry concerned over the steep rise in bad loans, set up a committee to suggest sector-specific mechanisms to address rising issue. With respect to the statement which of the following statement is not true? 1. The ministry decided to set up the committee after rating agency Moodys downgraded the Union Bank of India one notch on 19 March 2012 due to its high level of troubled assets and low provisions for coverage 2. The committee will have representation from the finance ministry, the Reserve Bank of India and some banks. 3. Finance Minister in Budget 2012-13 allowed $1-billion external commercial borrowing (ECB) for the airline
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industry for one year, and allowed foreign debt to part-finance rupee debt taken by power companies and also for affordable housing. 25. Rise in bad loans affected farm sector lending as well. In November 2010, the share of farm loans was 13.10%, and dropped to 9.18% in November 2011 a. 1 & 3 b. Only 3 c. Only 4 d. Only 1 Answer: (c) 26. Union Railway Minister Mukul Roy rolled back the railway fare hike as proposed by Dinesh Trivedi in the first Union Rail Budget 2012-13 presented on 14 March 2012. Which of the following statement is not true with respect to the roll back? 1. Roy withdrew the hike for second class suburban and non-suburban, and sleeper class travel fare by 2 paise, 3 paise and 5 paise per km 2. All railway reform measures suggested by Trivedi such as setting up of an independent tariff regulator, restructuring of Railway Board on professional lines, and creation of posts of Member PPP and Member Safety was also ignored 3. Roy's budget paved the way for the cash-strapped railways to earn a mere Rs 450 crore from increased passenger fares instead of Rs 1000 crore that Trivedi budgeted for 4. Following the rollback proposed by Roy the railways can now generate only Rs 1000 crore more. a. 2 & 4 b. Only 3 c. 1 & 4 d. Only 4 Answer: (b) 27. According to comptroller and auditor generals draft report titled Performance Audit Of Coal Block Allocations, the government lost what amount of money by not auctioning coal blocks between 2004 and 2009? a. Rs 10 lakh crore b. Rs 8.7 lakh crore c. Rs 7.75 lakh crore d. Rs 10.67 lakh crore Answer: (d) 28. Union government raised interest rates on post office-operated small savings like Monthly Income Scheme (MIS) and Public Provident Fund (PPF) by what per cent in March 2012? a. O.5% b. 1.1% c. O.75% d. 1.75% Answer: (a)

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29. Marathi poet and Sahitya Akademi awardwinner, Manik Godghate passed away in Pune on 26 March 2012 after battling liver cancer for a year. For which of his work did he receive the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2012? a. Waryane Halte Raan b. Sandhyakalchya Kavita c. Chandramadhavichya Pradeshat d. Sandhyaparvatil Vaishnavi Answer: (a) 30. Name the Tamil author who was announced the winner of the Saraswati Samman 2011 by K K Birla Foundation announced on 22 March 2012 for his book Irama Kathaiyum Iramayakalum. a. Dhanushkodi Ramasamy b. Jeyamohan c. Sundara Ramasami d. A A Manavalan Answer: (d) 31. Which legendary versatile Bengali actor was on 21 March 2012 selected for India's highest film honour the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2012? a. Prasanjeet Chatterjee b. Soumitra Chatterjee c. Ranjit Mallick d. Suvendu Chakroborty Answer: (b) 32. Name the Union Minister who on 20 March 2012 was sworn in as the Union Railway Minister by President Pratibha Patil in New Delhi following the resignation of Dinesh Trivedi. a. Mukul Roy b. Subodh Kant Sahay c. M.K. Alagiri d. Kishore Chandra Deo Answer: (a) 33. Matanhy Saldanha, the tourism minister of Goa died of a heart attack on 21 March 2012. He also held the portfolio of _ _ _ _ _ _ _. a. Health b. Finance c. Science and Environment d. Home Answer: (c) 34.Report of the probe by the income-tax department into the allegations that relatives of former chief justice had amassed huge wealth during his tenure was submitted on 12 March 2012 to the Supreme Court. Identify the CJI in question. a. KG Balakrishnan b. R.C. Lahoti c. G.B Pattanaik d. B.N. Kripal Answer: (a)
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35. Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh during his tour of Maharashtra's Satara district announced on 11 March 2012 a national award for sanitation and water in the name of which of the following Maharashtrian saints? a. Bhaktha Pundarikar b. Sant Gadge Baba c. Sant Yoga Paramanandar d. Bhaktha Goma Bai Answer: (b) 36. The Chief Election Commissioner of India, on 17 march 2012 lead a delegation to Amman in response to an invitation by the Prime Minister of Jordan, to explore modalities of supporting Jordans electoral process against the backdrop of political reforms. Who is the Chief Election Commissioner of India? a. Montek Singh Ahluwalia b. S M Krishna c. Dr. S. Y. Quraishi d. Dr. Manmohan Singh Answer: (c) 37. Defence Minister AK Antony inaugurated the 36th DRDO Directors Conference on 19 March 2012. What was the theme of the conference? a. Self-Reliance Strategy in Globalised World b. World Disarmament Strategy c. Emerging War Scenarios and Strategies d. Information Warfare / Electronic Warfare Answer: (a) 38. Akali Dal chief Parkash Singh Badal, sworn in as the chief minister of Punjab on 14 March 2012. Badal became the chief minister of the state for _ _ _ _ _ _ _ a. Fourth time b. Second time c. Third time d. Fifth time Answer: (d) 39. Consider the following statements and using the code given below identify the personality with whom these statements are associated 1. He the CEO of Mahindra Satyam 2. He is to be appointed as the CEO of Mahindra Satyam-Tech Mahindra 3. He was instrumental in recreating the image of fraud-hit-firm and giving it a new lease of life Satyam 4. In 2007, he was nominated for the Entrepreneur of the Year Award bestowed by Ernst & Young. (a) AM Naik (b) CP Gurnani (c) Shiv Nadar (d) Anand Mahindra Answer: (c)

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40. Which of the following car company on 23 March 2012 hiked the price of its cars by 2.2 5.1 per cent (a) Skoda India (b) Volkswagen India (c) Tata Motores (d) Hyundai Answer: (a) 41. Indigo Manza is the car manufactured by _ _ _ _ _ _ (a) Tata Motors (b) Honda Motors (c) Hyundai Motors (d) Nissan Motors Answer: (a) 42. Which of the following banks on 20 March 2012, launched its new card product named Sapphiro (a) HDFC (b) State Bank of India (c) Kotak Mahindra (d) ICICI Answer: (a) 43. Which of the following companies on 12 March 2012 unveiled Indias first CDMA network technology driven tablet computers (a) Airtel (b) Dell (c) Reliance Communications (d) Idea Cellular Answer: (c) 44. Consider the following statements using the code given below identify the personality with whom these statements are associated 2. He won Malaysian Grand Prix on 25 March 2012 3. He is the Ferrari driver 4. He is a Spanish national 5. On 25 September 2005, he won the Formula One World Driver's Championship title at the age of 24 years (a) Lewis Hamilton (b) Fernando Alonso (c) Sergio Perez (d) Sebastian Vettel Answer: (b) 45. Which one of the following statements is wrong (a) Lewis Hamilton is Formula One player (b) He is a British national (c) He is the Red Bulls driver (d) He finished third in the Malaysian Grand Prix 2012 Answer: (c)

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46. Who among the following tennis players won Qnet ITF Womens Tennis Championship Title? (a) Donna Vekic (b) Andrea Koch-Benvenuto (c) Martina Navratilova (d) Serena Williams Answer: (a) 47. Which of the following state won the National Inter-State Tennis Championship? (a) Maharashtra (b) Uttar Pradesh (c) Tamil Nadu (d) Karnataka Answer: (c) 48. Virat Kohli has been slated the vice captain of Indian cricket team, he represents which of the following states? a) Delhi b) Uttar Pradesh c) Gujarat d) Rajsthan Answer: (a)

49. Consider the following statements using the code given below identify the personality with whom these statements are associated 2. He has recently been appointed as the Chairman of Mindtree Limited 3. He is also the co-founder of Mindtree limited 4. He has replaced Ashok Soota as the Chairman of Mindtree Limited 5. He has also served as the Vice Chaiman of Mindtree (a) Subroto Bagchi (b) Vivek Hooda (c) Ashok Malik (d) Pradeep Rungta Answer: (a) 50. Which one of the following statements is wrong (a) Varun Berry resigned from the Pepsi Co India on 29 February 2012 (b) He was the Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo India Food (c) He joined the company in 2006 (d) As the CEO of PepsiCo India Foods, he promoted brands like Lays, Quaker, Kurkure and Lehar Answer: (c) 51. Who has been appointed the new Managing Director of Hyundai India? (a) Bo Shin Seo (b) Andrew Mark (c) Anil Aggarwal (d) Anand Mahindra Answer: (a)
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52. Company Law Board on 1 March 2012, returned the petitions of (a) Telenor and Unitech (b) Reliance Telecom (c) Etisalat DB (d) STel Answer: (a) 53. Which of the following public sector bank has appointed Madhukant Girdharlal Sanghvi as its new Chairman (a) Bank of Baroda (b) Allahabad Bank (c) State Bank of Maharashtra (d) Syndicate Bank Answer: (d) 54. Consider the following statements and using the code given below identify the personality with whom these statements are associated 1. He has recently joined the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited as its Chairman 2. He is one of the few outsiders to head HAL 3. He started his career with ONGC in 1976 4. He has also served as the head of Pawan Hans Limited (a) RK Sharma (b) RK Tyagi (c) AM Naik (d) Pratip Chaudhury Answer: (b) 55. Which of the following Indian company has formed a joint venture with South African firm Exxaro (a) Reliance Industries (b) Essar (c) Tata Power (d) Vodafone India Answer: (c) 56. Who has been appointed the new Managing Director of Hyundai India? (a) Bo Shin Seo (b) Andrew Mark (c) Anil Aggarwal (d) Anand Mahindra Answer: (a) 57. Admax, South Asias largest digital media network was acquired by which Indian company (a) Komli Media (b) Mindtree (c) Tata Teleservices (d) Google India Answer: (a)

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58. James Murdoch, who on 29 February 2012 stepped down as Executive Chairman of News International is son of (a) Rupert Grint (b) Steve Murdoch (c) Mark Rupert (d) Rupert Murdoch Answer: (d) 59. according to data released by the government on 19 March 2012, retail inflation stood at what per cent in February 2012 as a result of higher prices of protein based items, edible oil products and manufactured goods? a. 8.83% b. 7.74% c. 7% d. 6.9% Answer: (a) 60. The Union Finance Minister (FM) Pranab Mukherjee tabled the Union Budget in the Parliament of India on 16 March 2012 for the fiscal year 2012-13. The total expenditure for 2012-13 is estimated what amount? a. Rs 1400025 crore b. Rs 1490925 crore c. Rs 1451033 crore d. Rs 1444264 crore Answer: (b) 61. In the Economic Survey tabled by the Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on 15 March 2012, Indian economy was estimated to grow by what per cent in 2011-12 mainly due to weakening industrial growth? a. 6.5% b. 6% c. 5.2% d. 6.9% Answer: (d) 62. The Union Railway Budget 2012-13 was presented in the Lok Sabha on 14 March 2012 by Union Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi. Which of the following facts related to the budget are not true? 1. The total union budget outlay for 2012-13 stood at Rs 60100 crore. 2. The fares were raised in the budget. The fares were raised 5 paise per km for suburban and ordinary second class. Fares for mail express second class was raised by only 2 paise per km 3. Union Railway budget 2012-13 proposed to allocate about Rs 4410 crore to capacity augmentation works 4. The Union railway proposed to electrify 6500 route kilometers during the 12th Plan period. This would include electrification of Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla line and hence provide pollution free traction to the pristine Kashmir Valley 5. Union railway Minister proposed to raise the allocation under passenger amenities from Rs 762 crore in 201112 to Rs 1102 crore in 2012-13 a. 3 & 5 b. Only 4 c. Only 2 d. 3 & 4 Answer: (c)
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63. Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukharjee presented the annual budget for the fiscal year 2012-13 in the parliament on 16 March 2012. The Union Minister of Finance came up with an increased budgetary allocation for various sectors including agriculture, rural development, defence etc. Which of the statements are not true with respect to the budgetary allocations? 1. Budgetary allocation for agriculture and allied activities 2012-13 increased by 16%. 9217 crore rupees allocated for Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana 2. 20,000 crore rupees allocated for Rural Infrastructure Development Fund 3. Sarva Siksha Abhiyan-Right to Education- 25555 crore rupees 4. 193407 crore rupees aallocated for Defence services including 79579crore rupees for capital expenditure 5. 20822 crore rupees National Rural Health Mission a. 1 & 5 b. Only 1 c. 2 & 5 d. Only 4 Answer: (b) 64. Scientists recently found the treatment for Glaucoma in rats. Glaucoma is an __ disease. a) Eye b) Ear c) Lung d) Skin Answer: (a) Eye 65. Scientists identified two genes, which are linked to Parkinsons. The genes are called__. a) NACP and MAPT b) NCAP and MPAT c) NPAC and MTPA d) NNCP and MMPA Answer: (a) NACP and MAPT 66.Erosion and diversion of Rushikulya river mouth in Odisha's Ganjam district seem to be posing a serious threat to the annual mass nesting of the endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles. Consider the following statements: i) The olive ridley sea turtle is also known as the Pacific ridley. ii) It is a species of sea turtle. Choose the right option: a) Both i and ii are correct. b) Only i is correct. c) Only ii is correct. d) Neither i nor ii is correct. Answer: (a) Both i and ii are correct 67. Which one of the following state governments imposed restrictions on the visit of foreign tourists to the areas inhabited by Tribals? a) Odisha b) Bihar c) Madhya Pradesh d) Uttar Pradesh Answer: (a) Odisha
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68. Indian black eagle was spotted in the Aravali Biodiversity park after a gap of __ years. a) 90 b) 80 c) 70 d) 60 Answer: (a) 90 69. according to data released by the ministry of commerce and industry on 28 February 2012, output of eight core segments that comprise the manufacturing sector dipped to 0.5% in January 2012, marking the slowest growth in three months. What is the total weight of the eight core segments in the index for industrial production (IIP)? a. 42% b. 37.9% c. 53% d. 51.4% Answer: (b) 70. The union government decided to boost public spending in the health sector to what per cent of GDP from the current 1.4 per cent over five years (12th Five Year Plan period begining 2012)? a. 2.5% b. 3% c. 3.33% d. 4.5% Answer: (a) 71. As per the data released by the Central Statistical organisation (CSO) on 29 February 2012, Indias economic growth rate dipped to what percent in the third quarter (october-december ) of 2011-12 due to poor performance of the manufacturing, mining and farm sectors? a. 5.5% b. 3.2% c. 6.1% d. 6.6% Answer: (c) 71. As per the data released by the Controller General of Accounts on 29 February 2012, fiscal deficit was 105 per cent of the total annual target in the April-January period of 2011-12. What did the deficit stand at? a. Rs 4 lakh crore b. Rs 3.33 lakh crore c. Rs 5.21 lakh crore d. Rs 4.34 lakh crore Answer: (d)

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